Through the Storms
by tanikara kohitsuji
Summary: Zutara oneshot collection. 30 Themes challenge. "Weather." A bunch of oneshots about our favorite Firebender and Waterbender that explore the love that should have been but wasn't. If you don't like Zutara, don't read it.
1. When I Can't Have You

Title: When I Can't Have You

Author: tanikara kohitsuji

Theme: 16. Ironic

Pairing: Zutara! Zuko x Katara

**When I Can't Have You**

Irony. That was the word for them.

It suited them best, Katara decided. She just stared in horror and fascination as he and Mai kissed. Felt her heart crack into itty bitty pieces. She stumbled back a little as the shards hit the floor. And somehow she couldn't tear her eyes from the sight of them.

Irony was the best word for this situation. After all the times she rejected him, she finally admitted to herself that she liked him. As he lay dying, she accepted the truth in her heart. She conceded that she might love those amber eyes more than anyone else's, might love the way his voice slid across her name.

But of course, she realized it, only to have every hope dashed days later. She had been coming to tell him the truth, confess and… who knows what she wanted. But she knew she didn't want this. She didn't want to walk in on him and his ex kissing, making up.

Yes, irony was the perfect word. Ironic that when she finally figured out what she wanted, that she walks in on him with another woman. Irony was that when she finally wanted to be with him, she can't have him.

And with that thought, she finally found the will to turn away and run from the sight seared into her mind, her eyes. Hot tears spilled down her cheeks as she stumbled down the hall.

Irony.

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**A/N: Welcome to my latest Zutara oneshot collection! While I wrap up my planning of my next Zutara fic, I figured I'd get back in the swing of this pairing with another 30 themes challenge. Their theme set is "Weather." Most of these will not be linked in any fashion. Just random ideas or stories that come from the prompts.**

**In this one, I decided to go canon. Much as I hate it. I hope you won't kill me for it. **

**And as always, please review! I love hearing from my readers, and I do actually respond! I make an effort to answer every signed review!**


	2. Rising with the Sun

Title: Rising with the Sun

Author: tanikara kohitsuji

Theme: 30. "Good morning…"

Pairing: Zutara! Zuko x Katara

**Rising with the Sun**

Dawn just came creeping over the sunrise when he stirred. Zuko watched in fascination as his wife's face slowly flushed with color. First her skin flushed tan, then her hair became chocolate spilled across their pillows. Her breath whispered out of her agape mouth, her plump pink lips utterly tempting.

Her blue eyes were yet to be seen though, but Zuko just smiled knowingly. Katara was a waterbender to the core, late to rise and late to bed. So he took advantage of his firebender heritage just to watch her in the early sunlight. Hey, if he's going to rise with the sun, he might as well make it worth his while.

An hour later, Katara stirred and opened her amazingly blue eyes. She smiled at her husband.

"Good morning," she mumbled groggily. She stretched a little. "How long have you been up?"

"You ought to know. I rise…"

"With the sun," she finished with a grin. She kissed him. "You love saying that."

"Mmhmm."

Overall though, he'd have to say his favorite part of the morning was when his Fire Lady woke up and greeted him with a kiss. It was the best morning greeting.

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**A/N: Well, here we have non-canon! I love the idea of the two of them married. They'd be so amazing together. So we had a moment of looking at them. It actually took me a while to come up with a title for this one. I finally went with this one. But Personally, I don't like it that much. **

**I do like the fanfic though. It feels very relaxed and sedate. I like calm Zutara…**

**Don't forget to give your input on these oneshots! Please and thank you!**


	3. The Start of Something Wonderful

Title: The Start of Something Wonderful

Author: tanikara kohitsuji

Theme: 28. Not yet in bloom

Pairing: Zutara! Zuko x Katara

**The Start of Something Wonderful**

Katara strolled through the palace. It was hard to believe as she walked that not even three years ago, this very hall had been gutted by fire. And yet now, there was not a trace of the destruction. She paused, staring up at the reconstructed pillars and new tapestries.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" a male voice said from behind her.

Katara gasped and turned to see Zuko just behind her, slightly to her right. "Oh. It's you," she sighed. She relaxed again, turning back to the wall. "It is beautiful. If I didn't know better, I'd never guess that a few years ago, this was nothing more than ashes."

A horrible, awkward silence descended as they both got lost in the memories of the past.

"You know, you're looking at the wrong part," he said, drawing them both out of the gloom.

Katara turned her sapphire gaze to him. "I am?"

"Yes. Come on," he said, reaching over to take her hand. "I'll show you."

As he led her down the winding halls, he explained. "There's one part of the palace that was completely untouched by the fires from my Agni Kai with Azula. It's my favorite part. Always has been."

They arrived at a waterfall of beads that hid the room ahead from view. Zuko paused, her hand still securely in his. "I… I haven't shared this with anyone since my mother disappeared."

Katara took a soft breath, her eyes widening in understanding. "Zuko. I…"

His amber eyes caught her cobalt ones, and her words died on her lips. She was quiet for a minute, lost in his eyes before she squeezed his hand comfortingly, gently. "Thank you," she said softly.

He drew back the strands of beads to reveal a courtyard garden. He drew her into it as she took in the quiet pond, the budding trees, and the lush grass.

"Zuko, this is beautiful," she gasped. Her hand slid from his, leaving him feeling a bit bereft, as she left his side to explore the garden.

He went over to lean against a tree to wait. He watched in fascination as the lithe tanned girl spun in the center of the grass. She twirled faster and faster, her hair fanning out as she flung her head back to welcome the warm sun on her face. Her arms stretched out to brush the lower limbs, skimming cherry and plum buds.

Strange how much things could change in a few years, he mused. When that hall had been rubble, he'd been with Mai still. Now, they had gone their own ways, just like Katara and Aang. Back then, the waterbender had been nothing but a slip of girl. Now, she was a fascinating young woman who entranced him as none other could.

As she slowed to a stop, Zuko finally found his tongue again. "You should see it when it's in bloom."

"I can imagine," Katara agreed, "it must breathtaking then." She turned to him, grinning as she clasped her hands behind her back. She leaned forward slightly, tilting her head up toward him, eyes sparkling like the ocean in the sun. "So, how did you know about this, Zuko? You don't seem like the garden type."

He kept his gaze locked with hers rather than dipping it down to observe her womanly figure. He went back over and took her hand in his again. He brought her next to the pond, and they sat down together.

"I used to come here with my mother to feed the turtle ducks."

Just then the animals came paddling out, coming over to them.

Katara sighed over the little babies. One came to close to her, and she reached toward it. Zuko's eyes widened, and he caught her hand quickly.

She turned an angry gaze to him. He didn't back down though, just met it with an equally serious gaze.

"Trust me. You don't want to do that."

"Why not?" she demanded.

"Mother turtle ducks will bite if you touch their young," he said and smirked. "I learned that one the hard way."

"Oh."

They lapsed into silence again, just enjoying the early spring sun on their shoulders, warming them. After about fifteen minutes, Katara shifted slightly and dropped her head to his shoulder. As she began absently to twirl her element about her fingertips, Zuko stole a glance at her.

He turned his gaze to the budding trees. Yes, this could be the beginning of something wonderful.

Somehow, his hand found hers again, and their fingers magically twined together and stayed that way for the rest of the day.

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**A/N: Geez, this one is long! But I just couldn't end it and it kept going and going. Finally I reached this point and found it finished naturally. **

**Why the curtain? To hide the garden. No other reason.**

**Another sedate one. Sweet too… I love sedate.**

**There is some symbolism here with the plum and cherry buds. You might not catch it though. It's nothing really traditional (unlike my usual tendencies with them…). Zuko kinda hints at it though. Send me your guesses!**


	4. Raincolors

Title: Raincolors

Author: tanikara kohitsuji

Theme: 22. Faded colors

Pairing: Zutara! Zuko x Katara

**Raincolors**

If there were one thing Zuko hated, it was rain. It made him cold, it made him feel useless, and most importantly, it made him _wet._

If there were one thing Katara loved, it was rain. It made her wild, it made her feel powerful, and most importantly, it made her _wet._

If there were one thing Zuko liked about the rain, it was the way Katara looked in it, hair catching the jeweled drops for just a moment.

She looked better soaked and invitingly soft, and the rain was the only way he could seem to find her like that.

When it rained, she went out to practice her bending. As she practiced, her clothes became soaked, clinging to her slight but curvaceous body in new entrancing, tempting ways. In the rain, Katara came alive. She absorbed it, embracing her falling element fully. It breathed color into her, heightening the blue in her robes. Her tanned skin glowed, catching the dim light in a glorious way. Her mahogany hair floated about her in loose, wet waves that caught the rain like a net of jewels for split seconds. Her eyes were the color of oceans in the wet weather, enticing as they caught his through the veil of drops.

If there were one thing Katara hated about the rain, it was the way Zuko looked in it, all drenched and washed out.

He looked better in color, and the rain had a way of fading all of the hues about him in a way that she did not like one bit.

His eyes went from smoldering amber to soft golden honey, slow, sticky, and captivating. His hair went from warm coal to hard ebony, all the invitation dragged out of it, hardened somehow, no longer to call her hand to it in the same way. His skin went from cream to porcelain. The warm reds and golds she associated with his robes faded to muted colors, as if the very water she loved so much falling from the sky pulled every drop of color from them and into it.

Overall, Zuko loved Katara in the rain, somehow saturated in color yet softer, lither than at any other moment.

Overall, Katara loved Zuko in the rain, somehow looking at her with more wonder, more love than at any other moment.

But most of all, both of them loved the way the other tasted of the sky and water and newness when they kissed among the falling heavens.

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**A/N: Aww…. I gave you a kiss! Ain't I the best? I hope you enjoyed all the parallelism overkill and bookending. I wanted to show contrasts and such with this one. So I kept switching back and forth.**

***laughs* Actually, I was originally going to use a different theme for this! But as I started envisioning it, I decided this one fit better. So I switched.**

**I love the title for this one. I was going to use "Watercolors" but it seemed misleading. So I thought of all the rain in this one and changed it to "Raincolors." I'm so going to call any watercolor of a rainy scene that now! lol**

**Drop me a note telling me what you think.**


	5. Our Memories

Title: Our Memories

Author: tanikara kohitsuji

Theme: 26. Souvenir

Pairing: Zutara! Zuko x Katara

**Our Memories**

Katara bit her lip. "I can't decide."

Zuko raised an eyebrow at his girlfriend. "Does it really matter?"

"Yes," she said, pinning him with a glare before turning back to her options. "This is our souvenir!"

"Our?"

"Yes, ours." The waterbender met the Fire Lord's gaze. "This is the souvenir that I am going to look at to remember our first date. Therefore, it's not just my memories I'm saving. It's ours."

He smiled slightly and moved behind her. He pulled her flush to him and peered over her shoulder at the trinkets with her.

"I like the jewelry box."

"But it's so expensive," Katara answered.

"We can afford it," he assured her.

"It is really pretty…"

"Get the box. It's perfect to hold all those memories of ours."

She smiled brilliantly at him. "Yeah. It is."

**A/N: Aww, new one. Some cuteness for everyone! It's their souvenir. Who else wants a souvenir to share with Zuko? I do, I do!**


	6. Just Hold Me

Title: Just Hold Me

Author: tanikara kohitsuji

Theme Used: 8. on a day like this

Pairing: Zutara! Zuko x Katara

**Just Hold Me**

There are days when Zuko just holds her. Holds Katara close as she cries. Some days, he just stays with her and lets her let it all out.

In their years together, he's learned how to read her signs. When he wakes up to her rigid form, he knows she needs to get relief. He'll wait until she wakes up and then he just pulls her into his arms.

She breaks down then sometimes, sobbing into his chest as he strokes her hair, muttering sweet nothings to calm her. Other times, she protests, trying to push him away, insisting he run the kingdom.

That's when he kisses her, shutting her up with his lips. "They can manage without me."

So he'll just hold her as she cries. Because she needs to. And he swore the day he took her as his wife that he would always be there for her. Or maybe back when they were still fighting to save the world he swore to never let her cry alone.

He holds her in his arms and thinks how lucky they are that they found each other. In the middle of this crazy world, they somehow found each other and held on through the good and bad.

**A/N: Wow. Umm. I originally wrote the first part in my head. And then wrote it down while I was falling asleep. Not a good combo. But it came out all right.**


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